


For the Love of Gold

by Athena_Silverwolf



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-03-17 00:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3508127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athena_Silverwolf/pseuds/Athena_Silverwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassie just moved to New York City to live with her grandparents while her father is deployed. Being shy and quiet seemed like the most reasonable way to avoid wanting to be friends with anyone. But when she meets those blue eyes across the room, he may give her someone worth wanting anyway.</p>
<p>Fili Durin was the golden boy, but in a school full of rich kids, there are very few besides his brother who have earned his loyalty. Then he sees her, bent over a sketchbook, and he wants to do nothing more than stand by her side and protect he from the harshness that is the Academy of Middle New York.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Day

“Cassandra?” the guidance counselor popped his head into the main office to see a small girl look around. Sitting with one blue ballet flat tucked under the other and blonde hair dragged into a tight French braided bun, the girl had been too absorbed in a novel to notice the admiring gazes of teens shuffling in and out of the office. When she looked up, there was a small smile of recognition before she slipped the novel-he glimpsed the title of _A Tale of Two Cities_ -into a pale blue backpack. Rising to dainty feet, she smoothed her blue and white floral skirt and took the papers from his hand. “I’ll walk you to your first class,” he assured her, watching her scan the map and schedule.

 

“Thank you,” she nodded, following him up down the hall to the social studies wing. She started her day with Advanced Placement Government and sighed. The military discipline with her school work instilled by her father had earned her a schedule of six AP classes out of eight periods.

 

“You’ll get all of your syllabuses today, but I want you to come and see me during your lunch period and after last bell,” he requested, stopping to knock on a door. As the noise level in the room dropped, the door opened to reveal a tall, young teacher with a lopsided grin. “New student for you, Mr. Szuksta,” the counselor explained, and the teacher nodded.

 

“Come on in. We’re just getting to the syllabus,” he opened the door enough for the girl to slip inside, closing it behind her before he led her to his desk. Handing her two slips of paper, he gestured to an empty seat beside an elegant boy in a green polo. As she crossed the room, she raked her eyes over his long form and found the only words for him were European posh. He wore rolled skinny jeans in dark brown, boat shoes, and a fancy watch. Sleek silver blonde hair was styled in the latest preppy fashion away from the glass blue eyes that flicked up to watch her sit. He nodded to her, reading through his syllabus as Mr. Szuksta resumed introducing himself. On the other side of him, one behind the other, were two identical brunettes. Both wore navy Bermuda shorts, tan boat shoes, and tan belts. The one in front had on a white short-sleeve button down, the other a silvery gray.

 

As the students around her packed up their papers before the bell, Cassandra looked up from her schedule to meet the brightest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen. She found herself captivated, and then he grinned. Fire exploded across her cheeks and she ducked her head, tearing her eyes away from his dimples. The silver blonde beside her muttered something that sounded like “Dumb jock,” as he rose to his full, lithe height. Cassandra glanced up as he towered over her, and he offered his hand. “Legolas Greenwood,” he told her with a charming smirk. “These two are Elladan and Elrohir Finwe,” he added, and the twins gave her devious grins as they shook her hand. Even their gray eyes were identical. The difference was the sideways sweep of Elladan’s hair and the short spike to the front for Elrohir.

 

“Cassandra Mason,” she murmured, slipping a tiny hand into Legolas’s. His long fingers covered hers to the point of hiding them, and she was unsurprised to find his hand smooth and cool to the touch before he released her.

 

“I presume you’ve just moved to the city? You were not a student here last here,” he remarked, one sleek eyebrow arching as she stood. She nodded, feeling eyes boring into the back of her head. “Good luck, Cassandra,” he added as the bell rang, and she leaned over to pick up her backpack. When she straightened, the same ocean blue eyes were watching her, all traces of his grin gone. He lingered by his desk until a number of boys called for him from the hallway, and she watched from the corner of her eye as he strode out the door.

 

Releasing a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, Cassandra slipped into the stream of people in the hallway. One hand closed tightly around the strap of her backpack as the other held the map and schedule in sight. A few people in front of her she caught sight of the blue eyes as he looked at the boy next to him, and she swallowed as she followed his cropped short blonde head towards her next class. When his group of friends leaned against the lockers and the wall next to the door she allowed herself to be jostled aside and ducked through the door. Slipping into a seat by the teacher’s desk, she waited until everyone settled into seats around her before she looked up.

 

The blonde stared at her from across the room, silent in the midst of chatting friends. Girls and boys alike vied for his attention, except for the group around Legolas and the twins. Cassandra was relieved to find herself at the far edge of Legolas’s click. Sitting next to the teacher’s desk had provided some peace. When the teacher appeared, there were barely muffled groans. It seemed she’d gotten lucky with a fun teacher in government. Mrs. Claude was an old droning lecturer, which made AP Calculus all the more difficult.

 

Third period AP physics provided another older woman, but this time, Mrs. Inerbitzen was a quick witted, sharp eyed hawk. The blonde edged closer, though he remained across the room. Her fourth period AP Spanish found him absent, and she was able to enjoy another teacher with an easy smile. Senora Paulo spoke only in Spanish and quickly changed the pronunciation and spelling of Cassandra.

 

Fifth period brought about her lunch period, when she was able to buy a sandwich and milk before slipping back out of the crowd. Most seniors left through a backdoor to eat at the picnic tables, a privilege enjoyed only by seniors and a select few underclassmen. Her guidance counselor lent her a chair in his office as he asked her about the first half of the day. She answered in a few soft words between bites of her lunch. Mr. Wells had only good intentions, she was sure, but finding a place to eat lunch for the rest of the year had just become far more difficult by missing the first day.

 

The blonde reappeared in her sixth period AP chemistry and seventh period AP literature. Since he had yet to make any move to introduce himself, Cassandra found herself content to sit at the edge of Legolas’s click and keep quiet. Though the quiet part was nothing new. “Where were you at lunch?” Elrohir asked as the twins caught her in the hallway between classes.

 

“Counseling,” she sighed, and they had to lean down to hear her.

 

“Are you always so shy?” Elladan questioned, and she flushed. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he laughed. Cassandra ducked her head, tucking a blonde curl back into her bun, only to look up as the twins stopped on either side of her. Then they were gone, leaving her alone to find their classroom.

 

As it turned out, she was only one room away, but she had to slip through a crowd of dolls to get there. “Oh look, new girl,” one said, raking her eyes over Cassandra as she passed.

 

“For a military brat, she has good taste in clothes,” a bottle blonde smirked.

 

“Probably just has that one outfit. Watch, she’ll be in camo and cargo pants tomorrow,” another sneered.

 

“Poor thing, can’t afford good brands either. Those are cheap.”

 

Laughter followed Cassandra as she escaped into the classroom, face red and knuckles white where they gripped her backpack. Finding a seat near the back, she covered her face with her hands and tried not to cry. _‘What did you expect? They’re all rich kids. None of them had to take tests and write essays to get a scholarship here. Daddy paid for it and their dyed hair,’_ she thought. When her face finally felt cooler, she wiped at her eyes and looked up. Empty seats surrounded her, and a few people were staring and laughing.

 

But as she went to move her backpack, a folded piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Inside was the dark script of a well-written boy. “Don’t worry about them. I think you’re beautiful.” Another blush worked its way up her neck and she glanced at Legolas and the twins. None of them were looking at her, but they’d been the only ones nice enough to speak to her all day. Now they sat across the room, in the midst of their crowd.

 

Her escape came in photography, her last period elective. In a class full of artsy hipsters and nerds, she was able to breathe. “You’re new,” a gentle voice drew her from looking around the art studio, and she turned to find another girl at her side. “I’m Sigrid Bowman,” the brunette said, offering a pencil smudged hand.

 

“Cassandra,” the first smile of the day was presented to Sigrid, who kept hold of her hand and dragged her to one of the stools at the four person tables. The younger girl sat beside her as two friends of hers claimed the seats across the table. Sigrid leaned over as the teacher entered to whisper, “Welcome to the Academy of Middle New York.”


	2. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the golden boy is a hero and Cassie can talk

“How was school?” a voice asked as Cassie locked the townhouse door behind her. The teen found her grandmother in the kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner. Dropping her backpack on the chair next to her, she perched at the granite top peninsula counter and dropped her head on her arms. “That bad?”

 

“I have six AP classes, Nana,” Cassie groaned, digging out a folder full of papers. As her grandmother washed her hands, Cassie separated the papers into two stacks, one for signatures, and the other without. “Two of the teachers are boring, lecture types who put you to sleep with their droning. I need you to sign these ones.”

 

“So, what are the kids like?” Grace Mason would never had it said that she let a conversation just drop, so she plied her granddaughter for details.

 

“Snobby, spoiled, name brand posh, and mean. My photography classmates are either nerds or hipsters, so some of them are okay. Sigrid was very welcoming,” the teenager sighed as she flipped through her papers again. There was a whole list of things she needed to buy before the end of the week for all her classes. “I’m just glad I didn’t start next week like they recommended. Being the new senior on the first day of school is bad enough. Everyone knows each other already. My AP classes are all the same kids, and they’re split into two separate groups. One revolves around this silver haired blonde, the other around a golden boy.” As she spoke, Cassie couldn’t get ocean blue eyes out of her head and covered her blush with her hands.

 

“And lunch? Who did you sit with?” the young grandmother handed over the stack of signed papers, then turned back to the oven.

 

“I had to go to guidance to talk to my counselor. I have no idea who to sit with tomorrow. Sigrid’s not even in my lunch period, so I can’t sit with her.” Grace nodded, and by the time she’d turned around again, Cassie was halfway up the stairs to her room. Quiet music filtered down the stairs a few minutes later, though it faded once Cassie closed her bedroom door. With a sigh, she sank into the desk chair, reaching for the box of school supplies she’d been able to reuse from last year. Most of her unpacking had been clothes and decorations, so she hadn’t bothered to open this particular box yet. A pang of longing went through her as she stared down at the German labels on her binders.

 

Her father had been stationed at a base in Germany for two years before he’d been deployed to Afghanistan a few weeks ago. She’d been forced to move into his parents’ townhouse after custody was rewarded to them while he was away. Though she understood the reasoning behind the custody requirement, it still hurt to know her father wasn’t actually her legal guardian anymore. It also hurt to know that her mother had never even bothered to respond to the court inquiries if she wanted custody over her teen daughter. Tears welled in her eyes again, and she wiped at them furiously. _‘I’ve shed enough tears over her. She doesn’t want me, then I don’t want her,’_ she thought, eyes drifting to the German flag near her bed. Good sections of her light blue walls were covered by flags that were accompanied by a few pictures and sketches. Cassie had taken most of the pictures of her favorite people and places, though she did smile at the camera for a few of them. Friends smiled down at her from every angle, though most of her photos resided in albums on her little bookcase or her computer hard drive.

 

Her favorite flag hung where she could see it every day when she opened her eyes. The United States Army flag sat in the midst of pictures of Lieutenant Colonel Casey Mason. Most featured base welcome signs and unit members. Beside her bed was a framed snapshot of Cassie in a green dress dancing with her father in his dress uniform at the base Christmas party last year.

 

Staring up at the pictures of her father, Cassie could think of only one way to cheer herself up. Digging a Twix bar out of the stash in her desk, she opened her laptop and set up a new email.

 

                “Hi Daddy,

 

                I had my first day of school today. Here’s my report.

  1. Pro: I’m in 6 AP classes. Con: I have six AP classes’ worth of homework.

  2. Pro: I made a friend in Photography. Her name is Sigrid Bowman. She’s a junior. Con: I made one friend at the very end of the day.



  1. Pro: I like most of my teachers. Con: I have two droning lecturers.

  2. Pro: There’s a handsome guy… Con: I’m never going to talk to him.

  3. Pro: Nana took a half day from work to be here when I got home. Con: I still don’t know how to talk to her. It’s been a month.



  1. Pro: I can take the subway right to school. Con: I have to walk to the subway. I’m going to have to buy a flashlight for winter when it’s still dark.




               

                I miss you, Dad. Send pictures, please? If you can. Say hello to your unit for me.

                Love,

                Cassie.”

 

Once she hit send, she checked her inbox just in case. A few were from friends from Germany, and South Korea before that. She’d been too young when they’d lived in Texas, Maryland, and California to have email addresses or phone numbers. Her father’s posting in Afghanistan was the first time in her entire life that he’d been sent to an unaccompanied base, leaving her behind where it was safe.

 

Answering the emails took her longer than she’d expected. When she finally closed the laptop, she could hear her grandparents talking downstairs. Grandpa was home, which meant…”Cassie, dinner!” Hurrying to turn off her music, she lost one flat on the stairs and had to go back for it. Nana was setting the table when she ducked into the kitchen. “Wash up.”

 

Dinner was mostly silent, except for the expected, “How was work?” When the adults finished, Grandpa turned to Cassie. “Well, girl, how much do you need for school supplies?”

 

“Twenty?” she guessed, keeping her eyes down.

 

“Was that a question or an answer?”

 

“Twenty,” she replied, lifting her head to meet her grandfather’s eyes. He nodded and sat back in his chair, sipping his beer. That was Cassie’s cue to clear the table as her grandparents relocated to the living room to watch the evening news. When she was done, Nana set aside her book and drew a twenty dollar bill from her purse. “Thank you,” Cassie murmured, glancing at the back of her grandfather’s head.

 

“You’re dismissed,” he snapped. Cassie ignored her grandmother’s apologetic smile and vanished back up the stairs, plugging in headphones instead of risking her grandfather hearing her music from the speakers. The rest of the night was spent organizing school supplies and showering before she checked her email one more time and crawled into bed.

 

The next morning, she stood in front of her closet, the bottle blonde’s comment running around her head. So she pulled on a navy and white chevron sundress, curled her hair, and lined her eyes with a navy blue pencil. Gold nautical themed jewelry and strappy navy wedges made the perfect accessories before she slipped through the silent house to make herself breakfast. Both of her grandparents worked nine to five jobs, so at six thirty in the morning, she was cautious not to wake either of them.

 

The subway from Borough Hall to school was crowded, so much so that she had to stick her travel coffee cup in the side pocket of her bag to hold onto a bar. She was just glad she’d remembered to bring her headphones today so she didn’t have to listen to anyone else. Crossing the street in a crowd, she was halfway up the granite staircase to the school when she was knocked aside. Her foot slipped off the step and she couldn’t help the yelp as she toppled backwards.

 

A warm, rough hand closed around her wrist, yanking her upright into a firm chest. A second hand settled on her hip to steady her as she regained her balance. “Are you alright, Cassandra?” a deep voice asked, forcing her eyes up to see her savior. Ocean blue eyes gazed down at her, dark with concern under golden hair. It was him.

 

“Cassie,” she corrected, snapping her hand back from where it rested on his chest. Risking meeting his eyes again, she blushed and explained, “I don’t like being called Cassandra. And yes, thank you, I’m fine.”

 

“So quiet, Miss Cassie,” he remarked, releasing her hip. “I’ll walk you inside. Can’t have you falling if I’m not there to catch you.”

 

“It was an accident. I can walk by myself,” she protested, drawing her wrist out of his grasp. Though as soon as she was free, she wanted to hold his hand. This golden boy gave off a warmth that reminded her of her father, made her feel safe, and earned him her trust.

 

“What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you do that and you fell down the stairs on your way to your locker?”

 

The teasing tone in his voice made her pause on the steps above him. Filled with a bravery she didn’t know she possessed, she smiled at him over her shoulder. “What kind of gentleman saves a girl but doesn’t introduce himself?”

 

“My pardon, milady,” he grinned, and she was pleased to see that two steps above him, they stood at equal height. “Philip Durin, at your service,” he added.

 

“So you even have a princely name,” she mused, then feeling cheeky, threw in, “You certainly are a golden boy, aren’t you?”

 

Philip laughed, grinning at her as he came to stand by her side. “Does that mean you’ll let me escort you?”

 

“How can I say no to charm like that?” she replied, watching as he beckoned to someone. That was when she noticed his friends waiting at the top of the stairs. “All of them?” she hissed as a tall brunette slid to a stop in front of her.

 

“Just this rascal,” Philip grinned, throwing an arm around the brunette’s shoulders. “Cassie, this is my younger brother, Kellan. Kili, this is Cassie Mason.”

 

Kellan was a good three inches taller than his brother, and nowhere near as golden. Shaggy dark brown hair hung over his ears and Philip impatiently brushed it off his brother’s forehead. This revealed eyes like chocolate instead of the ocean. Looking between them, she could see how they might be brothers in the line of their jaw and their builds, but other than that, they were day and night. Both were tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and thinner waists. But where Philip had built up muscle in his chest and arms, Kellan remained wiry. “And what grade are you in, Kellan?” she asked, blushing at the proud smirk Philip gave her.

 

“Oh god, please call me Kili. Only the principle calls me Kellan. I’m a junior,” the younger Durin grinned. “Has Fili here won your heart with his daring act of chivalry?”

 

“Shove off, Kili,” Cassie watched in amusement as a faint blush burned under Philip’s tanned skin before he drew his brother down into a headlock.

 

“Fili?” she repeated with a soft giggle, and Kili barked a laugh.

 

“Aw, wanted to appear all majestic like Uncle, huh brother? Didn’t even share your name?” he teased, breaking his elder’s hold before he slung his arm around Cassie’s shoulders. “Fili and Kili Durin sounds so much better than Philip and Kellan anyway.”

 

“I like it,” she assured Fili as he fell in on her other side. “There must be a story behind them?”

 

“Ha,” Fili smirked at his brother, who shrugged. “When Kili was little, he couldn’t say Philip, so he called me Phili. So when he wrote it the first time, it was F-I-L-I.”

 

“What kid knows that p-h makes the same sound as F? I was four!” Kili defended himself to a giggling Cassie.

 

“Then he decided that he had to be just like his big brother, and he became Kili,” Fili concluded, ruffling his brother’s hair. Kili let go of Cassie’s shoulders to comb the mess back down, then shrugged and ran a hand through it, skewing it once more.

 

“You guys are lucky,” Cassie told them when Fili finished laughing at his brother.

 

“Only child?” Fili realized, watching Cassie nod. “Any cousins?” She shook her head as she dug into her bag for her schedule, which was stolen by Kili. “Shame. We’ve got lots.”

 

“Not as many as Frodo,” Kili added, and Fili conceded with a nod. “Family friend,” he explained to Cassie. “Six AP classes, Miss Cassie,” he shook his head, whistling. “More than you, brother.”

 

“Only by one,” Cassie protested, then ducked her head as a dark blush bloomed across her cheeks.

 

“So you did notice me in every period,” Fili remarked, and Cassie nodded.

 

“How could I not, golden boy, you’re surrounded by sparrows in every class,” she muttered, and to her surprise, both boys sighed. She looked up at them curiously, and Fili offered an apologetic smile.

 

“You would think that in a school full of rich brats, they wouldn’t need to flock the kids with the wealthiest families in the grades,” Kili told her, and she shrugged. She didn’t know anything about their upper-class world, but it had to be something similar to the kids on the bases flocking the generals’ families.

 

“They just want to make themselves look better,” Fili reminded him, and Cassie realized this was something the boys had dealt with their entire lives. Then he grinned, shaking off their annoyance and took her schedule from Kili. “Oh look at that. Someone’s locker is right across the hall from mine.”

 

“And where is that?” she asked, reaching for the paper.

 

“We’ll walk you there. Can’t have the sparrows bombarding you,” he assured her, and was rewarded with another of those small smiles.

 

Even as she walked with the brothers, Cassie couldn’t help but wonder what the eldest was doing to her. He’d made her smile more in the last five minutes than she had in weeks.


	3. Golden Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a jealous flock of sparrows and an irate Queen Bee.

By the end of the week, there was a special email sitting in her inbox when she checked her phone at lunch. The attachment was of her father in full gear in front of his new base. He’d taken off his sunglasses so she could see the hazel-gold eyes they share, and she reveled in his smile.

Then she read his email, and her smile faltered.

“Hi Princess,

I’m worried about you, baby girl. I know you’re shy and like to keep quiet, but I also know you thrive with friends. Someone as fiercely loyal as you shouldn’t be alone. Do you want to change schools? I’m sure we could get you into an art school in the city.

I’m requesting leave for Christmas, flower. I can’t promise that I’ll get time while you’re on holiday break, so if we have to, we can take you out of school. Hell, baby, if we really have to, we’ll fly you out to Europe and I’ll meet you there.

I want you to be honest with me, sweetie. Is your grandfather treating you well? I’m sending money to your account so you don’t have to ask him for money he won’t give you.

Now, about this boy. What’s his name? Where does he live? Does he have a job? How are his grades? What’s his family life like? I may not like the idea of it, but you can have a boyfriend, Cass, so long as he treats you like an equal, (hell, like a Queen). Don’t you dare settle for anything less. And don’t let him or anyone pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. You are your own person, Cassie, and you should be treated like it. Make your own decisions.

I’m sorry I can’t be there to terrify your first boyfriend when he comes to pick you up for a date. Don’t even think about stopping your daily emails. I want to hear everything.

I love you, Cassie,

Dad”

 

“Cassie? Cassie, what’s wrong?” a soft voice at her side made her raise her head and she realized Fili had found her. Was nowhere in this school safe from the golden boy? Apparently not even the back corner of the cafeteria was hidden from him anymore. “Cassie?” he prodded, warmth spreading down her arm as he set his hand on her slim shoulder.

She didn’t see him frown at how bony her shoulder felt under his palm. Instead she looked away, tucking her phone back into her backpack. “I’m fine,” she whispered, wishing she could just disappear. People were staring at them, muttering and pointing. She was the school nerd, and their golden boy was worrying over her. “It’s nothing, Fili, go back to your friends.”

This time she did see him frown. Then his blue eyes flicked up, took in the stares, and dismissed them. People hurriedly turn away and resume their conversations, trying to pretend like they didn’t all just get caught. “Talk to me, Cassie,” he requested, using his hold on her shoulder to turn her towards him.

“Can’t you just leave me alone? I’m not one of your sparrows vying for your attention,” her words, though they should be angry, were not. She couldn’t find it in herself to be angry with him. He’d done his best to sit near her in class, though assigned seats and his flock made that difficult. None of them wanted to include her, and she had been fine with that, going so far as to move her seat after he’d sat near her when one of the flock glared at her.

“No, Cassie, I can’t. I know you don’t actually like being this lonely. I can see it in your eyes. What I don’t know is why you’re making yourself so miserable,” he replied, tightening his hand on her shoulder when she tried to pull away.

“You don’t know me, Fili,” she sighed, but he was right. She didn’t want him to leave. What she wanted was to be the one making him laugh and smile and quirk his lips the way he did when he was thinking. She wanted to challenge him, to learn everything she possibly could about him.

“I want to,” he told her. The complete sincerity in his voice had her head turning towards him before she could remember not to meet his eyes. “I’ve never wanted to know someone as much as I want to know you. I’d ask you questions until I lost my voice just to know everything about you.”

That caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to feel the same way. “You would?” her blush darkened when she peeked up at him through her eyelashes. The open longing and concern in his eyes made her speak before she realized what she was saying. “My dad emailed me.”

“What?” Now that she’d met his eyes, she couldn’t look away. His bafflement drew a tiny smile before she grew serious again.

“That’s why I was upset. My dad is deployed in Afghanistan, and we talk through email when he gets the chance at a computer. He said some stuff that makes me miss him more than I do every day already,” she explained, careful to keep her voice down so the kids nearby couldn't overhear.

“What did he say?” It amazed her how fast this boy caught on. She’d grown compliant being the school nerd; his brilliance startled her.

“He asked if I want to change schools so I make friends.”

“Do you?”

“A few minutes ago I did.”

“Now?”

“I think I’d miss Kili.” She hadn’t meant to tease him, but he put her so at ease that she couldn’t help it. It felt good to act like herself, to be cheerful and sassy and playful. “And there’s this handsome guy who caught me when I got knocked down the stairs. I still need to thank him for that.” Understanding dawned on Fili’s face, and then he grinned down at her. “My dad wants to know all about him, but I don’t know enough about him to answer.”

“Hold that thought,” he instructed, surprising her as he got to his feet. She turned to watch him stride back into his crowd and emerge with a red backpack slung over one shoulder. Kili popped up from the table, forcing his way through the kids who tried to stop Fili. The elder Durin snapped something at his flock, then shoved away from the table. As he stalked back towards her, she pictured a lion with a golden mane prowling through the savannah. Kili was right on his heels, more puppy like in his desire to be with his brother.

Fili returned to his seat beside her as Kili settled across the table. Both of them ignored the glares directed at Cassie and smiled at her. “Now, where were we? That’s right, answering questions on some handsome guy who rescued you. I don’t know, brother, what do you think? Do we know him?” Fili relaxed as soon as Cassie looked up at him.

“Oh, I think so, brother,” Kili grinned at Cassie, catching onto their game. She knew then that she was going to think of him as a puppy from then on, no matter what he did. A dark furred lab puppy with big eyes, floppy ears, and a playful streak a mile wide.

By the end of lunch, Cassie knew that both brothers worked for their uncle at Erebor Incorporated when they weren’t at sports practice. Both played football in the fall and would play lacrosse come spring, and Kili was on the indoor archery team in the winter. Fili took the winter off from a sport to train, work, and support his little brother. They lived with their mother and her older brother, Thorin, in a Tribeca penthouse. Thorin was the closest thing they had to a father, but she didn’t ask where their father had gone. They’d tell her if they wanted to, just like she’d share about her mother when she was ready. Kili proudly declared that Thorin was retired Army, and revealed that both boys were enrolled in ROTC, which was why Cassie didn't see Fili at the end of the day. The younger also had no problem bragging about his brother, who was very clearly his idol.

When the bell rang, all three looked up and groaned. Ocean, chocolate, and caramel eyes met, and three sets of lips broke into laughter. “I’ll meet you in chemistry, okay? I have to run to my locker,” Fili told Cassie as they got to their feet. She nodded, green binder in her hands, and slipped into the stream leaving the cafeteria. “Follow her. There’s going to be trouble. She admitted someone tripped her coming up the stairs on Wednesday, and we just made it ten times worse,” the blonde ordered, drawing his brother close.

Kili groaned, and briefly dropped his head on his brother’s shoulder. “Why can’t we pick our own friends without everyone else hating them?”

“Thorin warned us, Kee. We’ve known this would happen since we could understand how important Erebor is. You know it got worse after Uncle won the trial,” Fili muttered, carding a hand through his brother’s hair.

“Yeah, I know. Anyone in particular I’m watching for?” Fili raised one golden eyebrow, and Kili sighed. “Right, stupid question.” With that, Kili ducked out another door, and Fili sighed. Dragging a hand through his own hair, he quelled an urge to punch the stone wall beside him. He hadn’t lied to Cassie when he told her he wanted to know her, but he hadn’t told her everything. The instant he’d seen her in government, he’d been flooded with an overwhelming desire to protect the delicate looking girl. But three days later, he’d let his longing to talk to her overrule the voice reminding him that bringing her into his world would do the exact opposite of protect her. On top of making her a victim for her differences, he’d made her a target of their jealousy. Now he could only hope that he could protect her by playing teenage diplomat and placating the flock.

Cassie was right when she called them sparrows. They moved as a group, squawking for his attention and dive-bombing anyone who got in their way. The image of the blonde girl being swarmed by a flock of angry little birds was too amusing, and he chuckled to himself as he made his way up to his locker.

Kili was kicking himself. He’d lingered too long with his brother, and now Cassie was hurting. All he could see were her wide eyes as a dyed blonde senior stalked away from Cassie, followed by jeering and snickering friends. He hadn’t seen Fili’s want-to-be girlfriend slap the binder and sketchbook out of Cassie’s arms, but he saw the smaller girl kneel to pick them up. By the time he’d reached this hallway, Cassie had already been threatened to be more miserable than she was already. He was too late. As she straightened, she caught sight of him trying to reach her, and paled. Panic flared across her face and she turned towards her classroom. “Cassie, wait!” he called. She ignored him. 

Fili reached chemistry to find that the flock had shifted his seat so his back was to a hunched over Cassie at the very back of the room. At the end of their note-taking, he twisted to look over his shoulder and frowned. The page in front of Cassie was blank except for a few dark splotches. Another mark appeared even though Cassie’s hands hadn’t moved from her lap and his stomach knotted. She was staring at her notebook and crying in silence. Fury made him clench his jaw as he turned back around, and a few of his classmates he could consider friends ducked their heads in shame. Eyes blazing, Fili set about making a detailed copy of his notes for Cassie, knowing she hadn’t paid any kind of attention to Mr. Selski.

She was the first one out of class when the bell rang, head down as she evaded him. Kili nearly bowled his brother over when Fili left, babbling an apology while he tried to explain what had happened. Her tears were gone by the next class, and she paid rapt attention while ignoring Fili’s attempts to catch her eye. She didn’t even turn towards him when he offered the copy of his chemistry notes, though she took them when he left them on her desk.

“Did you fix it?” Kili asked as they walked towards the football field after school.

Fili looked around, straining to spot golden curls. When he did, she was already across the street and disappearing into the subway station. “I think I lost her, Kili. What could Sydney have possibly said to her?”

“We need to find out,” the younger Durin was serious, eyes angry and guilt-ridden. Fili stopped him, catching his brother’s shoulder until Kili met his eyes. Thinner shoulders sagged under his hand, and Kili sighed. “It is my fault, Fili. I was too late.”

“You made her smile Kili. Whatever was said to her, you didn’t say it. It’s not your fault.”

“Then why do I feel like it is?”

“Because you’re a good man, little brother. We will fix this.”

“We have to.”

Cassie sank to the floor next to her bed and broke down in tears. Her father had offered her an impossible choice to transfer schools. As much as she wanted to go to an art school, make friends, and leave the flock behind, she could never take that option. Even with Fili and Kili out of the picture thanks to the bottle blonde, she was stuck with misery. Her wonderful, loving, protective, dedicated father could never know the position his own father had put his daughter in. Cassie would take a lifetime of this misery over watching her father blow up the way he would if he knew. Even if she never spoke another word to her golden boy.


	4. Prize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fili is sweet, and someone gets slapped.

If Sydney hadn’t been using her skills to bully Cassie, she would have praised the bottle blonde for her ability to find out stories that should have been buried. By Monday, the entire school had known that Cassie’s mother had not married her father when she’d become pregnant, and then walked out. New rumors spread every day that her mother was a prostitute, a drug addict, an alcoholic, or just smart enough to walk away from the worthless baby she’d brought into the world. The rumors about her mother were nothing new to Cassie, but to hear speculation that her father had gone to Afghanistan to get away from her hurt more than she had prepared herself to handle.

 

Cassie had taken to bringing lunch to school and hiding in the art room rather than risking Fili or Kili attempting to talk to her. The flock kept Fili away in class, and she took caution to learn when he was at his locker so she could avoid him. But no one thought to warn her that the entire schedule changed on Friday for the big pep rally before the football home opener. So Fili caught her Friday morning heading from the art room after dropping off her camera. “Go away,” she hissed as he pulled her back into the studio, trying to yank her hand away.

 

“No. We need to talk,” he insisted, blocking her way as she tried to escape. “Cassie, please, I need to fix this.”

 

“This?” she demanded, hoping she could be cold enough to keep out the warmth she knew he would use to break through to her.

 

“Us. I thought we were getting somewhere last week, and then you were crying in chemistry.” She didn’t care if he was stressing about her all week, she didn’t, but she wasn’t even fooling herself.

 

“There is no us, Philip. I don’t want to be your friend.” Snapping the words at him stunned him and allowed her to twist free and stalk away from him.

 

“Liar,” he snarled, spinning her around by her shoulders. A thick gold braid whipped around her to lash against Fili’s shoulder, and empty gold eyes met pleading blue. “Cassie, talk to me. What did I do?”

 

The last week of descending misery in school, on top of the last month of being unwanted at her grandparent’s finally stirred up a reaction other than tears. Knocking his hands off her shoulders, she shoved him back a step. “You made me believe you were different, that I was special to you! If you’d just left me alone, none of this would have happened. I could have just been the lower-class school art-nerd. But you had to catch me and talk to me and now your flock is screaming for my blood if I even look at you. Do you know how hard it is to ignore you when you’re in five of my seven classes? It would be so much easier if you were an arrogant brat like all the others, then maybe I could hate you. But you’re not. You’re the intelligent, honest, hard-working golden boy and I want to be your friend so much it hurts.” By the time Cassie finished speaking her anger was spent and she sank onto a stool behind her. Dropping her head in her hands, she hid her face from the boy above her, praying he would just leave.

 

Instead he knelt on the floor in front of her. Gentle hands encircled her wrists and drew her arms down into her lap so he could see the misery, loneliness, and longing in her eyes. “Then why aren’t we friends?” he whispered, reaching out to brush a strand of hair back into her braid.

 

“Because I’m nothing special. You’ll forget all about me and I’ll disappear into the background, and you’ll go back to being the perfect golden boy,” she murmured, long lashes fluttering against pale cheeks as her eyes closed.

 

“I’m not perfect, Cassie.” The claim was so absurd to the girl that she lifted her head to stare at him. “I’m not. I’m selfish. I knew what they would do to you if I spoke to you, yet I sat with you at lunch anyway. I should have walked away after I caught you and left you in peace,” he reminded her, running his hand down her arm to twine their fingers together.

 

“You should have let me fall,” she protested, pale fingers tracing the veins on the hand that held her wrist.

 

“Never,” he promised, looking up to meet her eyes. “Come on. We’re going to be late for that quiz,” he sighed, settling for covering both of her hands with his own. Standing, he drew her upright into a hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Slim arms slipped around his waist as he tucked her under his chin. “Nobody gets to drive us apart again, okay? We’re going to be friends whether the flock likes it or not.”

 

“Even Sydney?” she asked, leaning back in his arms to look up at him through her hair.

 

“Especially Sydney,” he assured her, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. Chuckling as she blushed, he smiled and teased, “You know, you’re adorable when you blush.”

 

She ducked her head, stepping back so she could wrap her arms around herself. “Now what?” she murmured, uncertainty and hesitance pulling her lips down into a frown.

 

“Now we get to class,” he grinned, taking one of her hands so he could pull her along at his side as they rushed through the halls. They slipped into the classroom just before the bell rang, and Cassie blushed crimson as Legolas and the twins gave her identical arched eyebrows. Fili’s flock was gaping at them as he led her to the empty desks where she usually sat and slid into the seat in front of her.

 

He walked her to their lockers between classes, and in second and third period, he made the point to sit in front of her or beside her. His parting words before fourth period were “Smile,” and they went in opposite directions. He had business management while she was in Spanish.

 

Sydney caught her arm as she walked out of Spanish. The bottle blonde, who Cassie had learned was the perfect stereotype of a cheerleader, threw the smaller girl into the wall at her back. Once more slapping the binder out of Cassie’s hands, Sydney crowded into her face. “Haven’t I made your life hell enough? I told you to stay away from Philip Durin.” Sneering down at her, the blonde’s eyes weren’t protective or caring. They were possessive.

 

As if Fili were a prize waiting to be won. Cassie couldn’t stop the image of Fili with a price tag on his forehead from breaking into her mind, and a smirk grew on her lips. “We’ll see if you’re still laughing at the end of the day, freak,” Sydney snapped, raising one hand.

 

Cassie’s arms flew up a second too late to deflect the stinging slap across her face. Her head cracked against the wall behind her as Sydney flounced away. One of her friends knocked Cassie aside, and the smaller girl slid down the wall to the floor. Dizzy and stunned, Cassie had to blink a couple of times before the dark form in front of her came into focus as an agitated Kili. “Kili, calm down, I’m fine,” she muttered, raising a hand to the wetness under her nose. Her fingertips came back stained with blood and she sighed. Waving him back so she could breathe, she dug around in her backpack for a pack of tissues.

 

“You’re bleeding, Cassie!” Kili protested, gathering her Spanish binder and notebook.

 

“And I’m sitting on the floor, so will you please stop swearing under your breath and help me up?”

 

Kili leaned over, hooked his hands under her elbows, and lifted her as if she weighed nothing at all. Then, being Kili, he had to comment on the feat. “My god, do you eat at all?”

 

“What do you want me to say? I’m small, I’m aware,” she huffed, pressing her tissue to the bleeding right side of her nose. “Can we just go to lunch now, please?”

 

“Fili fixed you two huh?” he teased, and Cassie blushed again. “Did he kiss you?”

 

“On the forehead after he let me be mad at him, held my hands, and hugged me,” she assured him. His big brother had done everything right and more.

 

“I bet he wanted to really kiss you,” the brunette mused, shifting Cassie’s books to his other arm so he could open her locker.

 

“You know my combination?” she demanded, pointing to the green binder she needed for after lunch.

 

Handing over her brown paper bag, he informed her, “Memorized it off your schedule last week. Did you want to kiss him?”

 

“Why are we talking about this, Kili, he’s your brother!”

 

“And that makes it my job to know if the girl he wants to date is attracted to him too.”

 

“He wants to date me?”

 

Kili shot her a withering look as he led her towards the table he shared with his brother, who bolted to his feet on seeing the bloody tissue in Cassie’s hand. He went to shove his way between the rows of round tables, but Kili reached him first. The younger Durin stopped his brother with a hand on his shoulder, allowing Cassie to slip into the seat on Fili’s right. Kili settled to his brother’s left, watching as Fili leaned over and drew Cassie’s hand away from her nose.

 

“Who did this?” Fili rumbled, his voice low in his throat and stemming from somewhere deep in his chest. “Cassie, who slapped you?” She shook her head, eyes flicking around in shame as he wiped the blood off her face. She could feel the stares on the red handprint decorating the side of her face. “Cass, they won’t let us outside for lunch with the shortened periods. This is all we’ve got for privacy.”

 

“I’m fine, Fili. It’s nothing new,” Cassie closed her eyes as she realized what she’d said. Warm, calloused hands cupped either side of her jaw, forcing her to raise her chin and met that ocean blue gaze. “Sydney thinks you’re some kind of prize to be won. I may have laughed at her.”

 

“So she slapped you,” he growled, lifting his head to scan the cafeteria for the cheerleader. While he was distracted, Cassie looked up to see who else shared their table. On Kili’s other side was his rival for the eleventh grade flock, Bain. The dark haired boy was Sigrid’s older brother. Next to him was one of the twins. She was fairly certain it was Elrohir and Elladan was one seat over. Legolas was two seats over from Cassie’s right, and an auburn haired girl sat between them.

 

“I’m Tauriel, Legolas’s sister,” the other girl leaned over to whisper as Fili glared around the cafeteria.

 

“Cassie,” the blonde girl replied. She grimaced as Tauriel offered a hand to shake, and Cassie held up hers. Blood was still smeared across her fingertips from her nose. The other girl frowned and handed over a napkin. “Thanks.” Wiping off the blood, she went to throw the napkin in the trash barrel behind Kili only to remember that Fili still had the tissue. She turned to find that his glare, still fixed on Sydney’s blonde head, churned his ocean eyes to a gray storm. His fingers were clenched around the tissue on his thigh, so she drew his hand into her lap. As hard as she tried to open his hand, Cassie could not get him to let go of the tissue. Reaching up to catch his chin, she forced him to turn back towards her. “Relax, golden boy,” she suggested, tapping the back of his knuckles.

 

“Can’t you just let me be protective?” he sighed, reaching up with his free hand to smooth her mused hair.

 

She winced as his hand pressed over the tender spot on the back of her head, sighing when he frowned in concern. “Not when being protective distracts you from everything around you. I’m fine, Fili, now let go.” He gave her a sheepish smile when he realized she’d been trying to get the bloody tissue from his hand. “What do you do, wield swords to build up your grip?” she teased, leaning towards him as her hand came up to untie the thick French braid at the back of her head.

 

“Yes,” Kili laughed, and she choked. Coughing water out of her lungs, Cassie stared at the brothers.

 

“He’s not kidding,” Fili grinned, and she looked to Tauriel.

 

“We all have extensive training with weapons,” the other girl informed her, smiling faintly.

 

“Don’t forget the hand-to-hand combat,” Elladan threw in, sharing a grin with his brother.

 

“You’re sitting with the most dangerous kids in the school,” Bain grinned, and she looked around at all of them.

 

“You’re serious. All of you,” she realized, shaking her hair out of her face. “Where do you all train?”

 

“Ered Luin,” Legolas supplied, looking up from the laptop in front of him.

 

“Translates to Blue Mountains. It’s a gym in Brooklyn. Uncle and his best friend Dwalin founded it for veterans after our great-grandfather lost Erebor,” Fili explained. Cassie nodded; she knew the story of Erebor Inc. falling to the tricks and greed of the vice president after Thror Durin had been overcome by addiction. She’d just moved to Germany when Thorin Durin had sued Miles Smaug, the former vice president of his grand-father’s company, and gone to trial. With the help of one Bilbo Baggins, Thorin had won the trial and taken back the company that rightfully belonged to him and his heirs. Fili and Kili’s uncle had restored Smaug Industries to the thriving Erebor Incorporated after living near poverty for years. She knew Thorin’s wealth, and the fact that Fili was heir to the company, was the reason for the flock, but Casey Mason had raised his daughter right.

 

She’d watched her father work to give her everything in life. Now, watching this school full of spoiled brats flaunt money they’d done nothing to earn, she could appreciate how toned down the group at her table was compared to the rest of the school’s population. All of them worked, even if it was at their parent’s company, but still. They pushed themselves so much further than their peers.

 

There was a smile on her face as Cassie leaned forward, chin brushing Fili’s shoulder to whisper, “I want to take pictures of you guys training.”

 

Fili turned his head, nudging her ear with his nose. “I’m warning you now, I train shirtless.”

 

She giggling, flushing at the image in her head and his proximity. “Golden mane, muscular, protective, and you’re a warrior; you really are a lion.”

 

“Does that make you the sweet little lamb that the lion learns to love?” Fili murmured, reaching up to run his hand through the loose braid. Knowing looks passed between Kili and Bain as the elder Durin wrapped one of Cassie’s curls around his finger.

 

“Do you want me to be the lamb?” Cassie breathed, panic flaring in her chest as she realized he was flirting with her and he was holding nothing back. Is this what her father had meant that it was okay to have a boyfriend? Had he known there would be a boy that his daughter would allow to protect her? Cassie’s blush darkened as she acknowledged how much she wanted Fili to say yes.


	5. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fili really shouldn't have hoped his mother wouldn't notice Cassie wearing his football jersey on the sidelines.

“So who was the girl wearing your jersey?” Dis asked over the after game dinner. Both boys were freshly showered and dove into Thorin’s grilled chicken the second their uncle sat at the head of the table.

 

Fili winced and set down his fork. Of course his mother had noticed Cassie running around the field with her camera in her hands and wearing his jersey. “Her name is Cassandra Mason.”

 

“She goes by Cassie,” Kili threw in, earning himself a glare from their mother and a grateful nod from his brother.

 

“Are you planning on introducing your girlfriend to your family?” Thorin asked, watching his oldest nephew over his drink.

 

Fili met his eyes evenly, then shocked his uncle and mother by grinning. “I’d like to take her on an actual date before I ask her to be my girlfriend,” he laughed.

 

“Tell them where you’re taking her,” Kili elbowed his older brother, earning a punch to the shoulder in response. “It’s so cheesy.”

 

“Excuse me for wanting to take her somewhere peaceful so we can talk.” From there the boys dissolved into a seated battle of elbows and taunting.

 

“Where are you taking her, Fili?” Dis cut through their teasing with ease, prompting both boys to straighten in their seats.

 

Fili glanced at his brother, who nodded encouragingly. Thorin hid a smile behind his glass. Those two had the brotherly relationship down to a science. Kili could mock his brother one second, then be there the next to offer support over the same subject. “I’m going to ask her to meet me at Cathy’s Bakery for breakfast on Sunday.”

 

“What are you waiting for? Call her before she goes to bed,” Dis ordered, gesturing towards the door with her fork.

 

“I didn’t want to interrupt dinner,” the blonde protested, but he rose anyway. Pecking his mother on the cheek before he slipped into the living room, Fili glanced at his uncle’s stoic face. Thorin nodded to him and waved him away. Fili grinned to himself as he dialed the number he’d gotten from Sigrid through Bain.

 

“Hello?” Cassie’s voice was soft as she answered, and Fili smiled as he heard her voice.

 

“It’s Fili.”

 

“Oh. Hi Fili. Um, nice game.”

 

“Thanks. Did you get any good pictures? We saw you running around with your camera.”

 

“A few. There’s no football in Germany, so this was new to me.”

 

“I know you’ll get the hang of it. So I have a question for you.”

 

There was a muted yell in the background before Cassie whispered, “Shit. Fili, can I-”

 

Fili paused in his nervous pacing as Cassie cut off with a quiet yelp. “Cassie?”

 

An older man’s yell was loud enough to force the phone away from Fili’s ear. “What do you think you’re doing, you worthless bastard?”

 

“Going to bed, sir,” Cassie replied, her voice wavering as she held her phone at her side.

 

“Lights out. Now,” the older man snapped, and a door slammed somewhere near the girl.

 

Fili caught the tail end of a relieved sigh as Cassie brought the phone back up to her ear. “Fili?” she whispered.

 

“I’m here. Are you okay?” he assured her, looking down as he relaxed a hand he didn’t remember clenching into a fist.

 

“Sorry about that. My grandfather is strict.”

 

“Cassie. Are you okay?”

 

He heard her sigh again and knew she’d been trying to avoid the question the first time. “I’m fine. All he did was yell. Now what was your question?”

 

She couldn’t have known that asking would make his protectiveness swirl into nerves. “I-uh-I was wondering if you’d like to go out for breakfast on Sunday.”

 

Cassie was silent on the other end, but Fili had no way of knowing she was curled up on her bed, shocked. Then she tried to answer, and he knew her blush was redder than his favorite shirt. “Um. Oh. I-Philip Durin, did you just ask me on a date?”

 

He couldn’t help the laugh. “Yes, Cassandra Mason, I did.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Excellent. Do you want me to pick you up?” When he turned back towards the doorway, Kili grinned at him. Waving him off, the older brother smiled, and the younger threw him a thumbs up.

 

“No, that’s okay. I should get out and walk. Where am I meeting you?”

 

“Cathy’s Bakery. Is nine too early?”

 

“That’s perfect for breakfast. I have work at ten-thirty.”

 

“Great. So I’ll see you Sunday.”

 

“Bright and early, golden boy.”

 

“Good night, Cassie.”

 

“Good night, Fili.”

 

Fili returned to the kitchen with a grin across his face. His mother clapped her hands together as Kili leaned over to whisper, “Can I start planning your wedding?” Fili shoved him away, laughing, as the image of Cassie in a long white dress formed in his mind. Kili, knowing what he’d caused, laughing and teased him throughout the rest of dinner.

 

Cassie lay back against her pillow, staring up at the plain white ceiling. She was going on a date with Fili…grabbing her small throw pillow, she used it to muffle a squeal of giddy joy.

 

Saturday afternoon, while her grandparents were out, she called Sigrid. “I need help.”

 

“With?” Sigrid grinned at Bain, who whipped out his phone to text Fili.

 

“Fili asked me on a date tomorrow. I have no idea what to wear.”

 

“Hold on, I’ll FaceTime you.” The younger girl laughed at the clothes spilling out of Cassie’s closet once she could see.

 

“I have to work afterwards, so that limits what I can wear. I was thinking something like what I wore on the first day of school.”

 

“Skirt, flats, and short sleeve shirt?”

 

“Pretty much. Purple, blue, or turquoise?”

 

“Blue.” Cassie laid a few outfits on her bed, all centered on a blue floral circle skirt or a solid, lighter blue skater style. “Which skirt?”

 

“Floral. With that white shirt. Can you wear sandals to work?”

 

“Yeah, I just work as a hostess. Bofur says it's alright as long as I look professional.”

 

“So, no flip flops.”

 

“No, but I can wear these?” Cassie uncovered a pair of strappy nude wedges and set them next to her outfit.

 

“Nope. How about your blue flats?”

 

“These?”

 

“Yep. See, that looks cute and flirty.” Cassie huffed, then started cleaning up her room. “Come on, even you have to want to be flirty. It’s Fili! He’s totally into you.”

 

“I’ve never had to do this before, Sigrid.”

 

“You’ve never gone on a date?”

 

“I have, but this is different. Then, it didn’t matter that I was a military brat. Everyone I knew was somehow connected to the base, so no one was upper-class or anything. Now, I’m the pauper in a school full of princes and princesses.”

 

“Fili doesn’t care about your economic class, Cassie.”

 

“He should. I doubt his CEO uncle would be too pleased to learn that his heir was dating a girl just barely in the middle class.”

 

“Just have fun, Cassie. Fili’s a good guy. He won’t make you uncomfortable with his family’s wealth.”

 

“I know he won’t. I’m just nervous.”

 

“I’m sure he is too.”

 

“Golden boy, nervous, yeah right.”

 

“Golden boy?”

 

“I started calling him that in my head when I met him and it stuck.”

 

“Aw. You two are perfect for each other.”

 

“Shut up, Sigrid. This is our first date. I have to go now.”

 

“Call me after work tomorrow?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Good luck, Cassie!”

 

“Thanks Sigrid. Bye.”

 

“Bye.”

 

Cassie stared at her room once Sigrid hung up, than flopped onto her bed with a groan. “What happened to just trying to get through senior year?”

 

A ring startled her upright. Checking the phone in her hand, there was no call there. It wasn’t the landline on the bedside table. Rolling over, she ran to the laptop, knocking a pile of shorts off the chair. There was an incoming video call from an Afghanistan number. “Hey princess,” her father grinned at her from the computer screen.

 

“Hi Daddy,” she smiled, watching the lieutenant colonel call to someone over his shoulder. She laughed as his squad jostled their way into view and her father disappeared. “Hello.”

 

“Hey Cassie,” they called. They joked and teased and laughed until her father shoved them all out of the tent.

 

“Guess what, Dad,” she smiled as she waved goodbye to the last of them.

 

“What’s that, sweetie?”

 

“Remember that boy I told you about in my last email? He asked me to go to breakfast with him tomorrow morning.”

 

Cassie bit her lip as her father sat back. “Do you trust him to treat you right?”

 

“Fili’s the only one who is making the full effort to know me, Dad. I mean, Sigrid is great as a friend, but she’s got a little sister to take care of so she doesn’t really have the time. Legolas, Tauriel and the twins are a little too posh for me to want to be close. And I get the feeling that in our entire school, Fili really only counts Legolas, Elladan, Elrohir, Tauriel, Bain, and Sigrid as his friends. He’s trying to include me, but I’m so different from them. He knows, and he’s letting me keep my distance.”

 

“And you want this right? He’s not pressuring you by offering to include you?”

 

“I was threatened by a girl who thinks he’s hers and he wouldn’t just let me go. He wanted to make it right, Dad. No one has ever done that. He gave me his football jersey for the home opener last night too.”

 

“And by the silly smile on your face, you wore it. So what kind of name is Fili?”

 

Cassie couldn’t stop the laugh before she explained, “His full name is Philip Durin. His younger brother, Kellan couldn’t say Philip when he was little, so he called Philip, Phili. But, since no four year old ever knows that P-H makes the same sound as F, he spelled it F-I-L-I. So Philip and Kellan became Fili and Kili.”

 

“You care about them,” her father noted with a smile.

 

“They literally welcomed me with open arms. And they make me happy. I’ve laughed and smiled more around them these two weeks than I have the whole time I’ve been living with Nana and Grandpa.”

 

“Just make sure he treats you right. You know enough to put a boy in his place, princess.”

 

“I know, Dad. I want you to be proud of me.”

 

“Cass, I’ll always be proud of you. Now, enough about your new favorite photography subject and tell me all about your classes.”

 

Cassie hung up the video call with a sad smile. Her father had promised to send an email at the next opportunity, but not before ordering her to use some of the money in his checking account to buy back to school clothes. He hadn’t been too pleased to learn that she’d bought herself only one outfit with her summer job earned cash.

 

She’d argued that she had a good job, she didn’t need to use his money. That had been rebutted by the fact that he was her father, it was his job to provide for her. Then she’d tried that they needed the money for her college. He’d shut that down with the separate savings fund he’d opened when she’d been conceived into which he made weekly deposits. Her argument about renting an apartment when he got back was nulled by the reminder that they’d live on base again. When she’d run out of arguments, he’d relented and admitted, “Cass, sweetie, I’m making over seventy-four thousand a year. Please use some of it.”

 

“You got a raise.”

 

“I did. One more year as a lieutenant colonel under my belt. So it’s okay, baby girl, buy your art supplies and those skirts you like and get coffee in the mornings before school. I know you’re too responsible to go crazy.”

 

“I’m still keeping to my senior year budget.”

 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, my lovely little flower. But this way you never have to ask my father.”

 

“I can live with that. Are you sure he’s your father? He’s so strict.”

 

“Good, and I’m more like your grandmother. I want you to be happy, Cass, and if buying art supplies helps that, buy as much as you need.”

 

“You’re going to regret saying that, Dad.”

 

“Never, princess. I love you.”

 

“Love you, too, Daddy.”

 

“I’ll call soon, baby girl.”

 

“I’ll keep emailing, Dad.”

 

“Bye Cass.”

 

“Bye.”


	6. Coffee and caramel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fili takes Cassie out for breakfast.

Kili stuck his head into Fili’s room the next morning and laughed. His brother was standing in front of the mirror in socks and boxers. In his hands were two different shirts and his favorite dark wash jeans. “What’s up?”

 

“Red or blue?” the blonde asked, holding the shirts out to Kili.

 

“Blue,” Dis’s voice called from the hallway as Kili threw them back. “Brings out your eyes.”

 

“Thank you, mother!” Fili sighed, shimmying into the jeans. He paused, glancing at the tattoo on his arm before he buttoned the pants. “Do you think it’ll bother her?”

 

“Fee, she’s an art student with an army father. She’s practically required to have a tattoo.” Kili came to stand next to his left so that the two bands of Norse knots were side by side. “Besides, she’ll understand the family symbolism behind it.”

 

“I hope so.” Tossing the red tee shirt onto his bed to put away later, Fili slid the light blue tank top over his head, turning his back to the mirror. “Vans or Sperry?”

 

“Sperry. Don’t want to look like a skater boy.”

 

“No, we’ll leave that look for you.”

 

“Well, I do dark and mysterious much better than you.”

 

“Except you ruin it by laughing or making a joke.”

 

“At least I know how to make a joke, broody boy.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up and help me. I don’t want Cassie to know how much I freaked out over this.”

 

“She’ll probably blush and think it’s sweet, big brother.”

 

“Or think I’m as vain as Legolas.”

 

“Good god, here.” With that, Kili seized his brother and dragged him out of the bedroom. “Stay.” Disappearing back into the elder’s room, he emerged a minute later to hand over Fili’s gold and ruby class ring. “That’s all you need. If you do too much differently than school, you’ll make her uncomfortable.”

 

“Thanks, Kee.”

 

“You’re welcome. Now go, please, and take your nerves with you. Have fun.”

 

When Fili presented himself in the kitchen for his mother’s inspection, her eyes watered. “You look so like your father,” she murmured, hugging him.

 

“Good. Dad charmed you like this, maybe I can do the same,” Fili grinned at her as she released him to grab his wallet and keys off the table.

 

“He’d be proud of you.”

 

He paused before he opened the door. Hugging his mother one more time, he whispered, “He’d be proud of you too.”

 

When Cassie reached Cathy’s on the corner, Fili’s blonde head was distinct standing in front of the gray stone of the building. She wove her way through the crowd to his side, smiling when he saw her. “Good morning,” he greeted, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek.

 

“Good morning, Fili,” she murmured, blushing as she joined him in line.

 

“I know I’ve said this before, but you are adorable when you do that,” he whispered, tickling her ear with his breath.

 

“Well you seem to have a particular skill at making me blush, now stop it. People are staring.” Fili huffed in her ear before he straightened, though he did reach down to take her hand in his. When the pair moved forward enough to see the menu board, a delighted smile graced Cassie’s face.

 

“What’s that for?” he teased, watching her eyes roam the board.

 

“They have apple cinnamon crepes. I love them.”

 

Fili chuckled, murmuring, “I forgot you’d never been here before.” The cashier smiled at them, and Cassie knew the look they were getting. She’d given it to the adorable couples too. “Apple cinnamon crepe with whipped cream and caramel and an egg and sausage sandwich on an English muffin,” Fili ordered, then paused. “What do you want to drink, Cass?”

 

“Iced Frappuccino?” she was quiet as she spoke to him, so he tacked her order on with his coffee as he turned back to the cashier. Cassie smiled shyly up at him when he asked for caramel and whipped cream on her Frappuccino too. Then she frowned when he pulled out his wallet and promised herself she’d slip a ten to him somehow. Maybe Kili would give it to him.

 

As they waited to pick up their food, Fili leaned over to her ear again. “Stop worrying about paying me back. I asked you to breakfast, I’ll pay for it.” When she opened her mouth to argue, he added, “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

 

“And I’m trying to be fair.”

 

“What is it with the double standard? Girls want the guy to be a gentleman, but when we try to pay, you insist on being equal.”

 

“Gender equality, Fili. Girls aren’t just asking to have the same rights as men, but also for there not to be so much pressure on men to be the emotionless provider. Plus, it’s an independence thing. How am I supposed to work the same job and have the same opportunities as you if I never pay the same amount?”

 

“Please tell me you’re going to watch Emma Watson’s speech at the UN.”

 

“Of course. I’m not ashamed to be a feminist.”

 

“My mother is going to love you.”

 

“You don’t mind that I insist on being equal?”

 

“Of course not. Ma taught me to respect that. So how about a deal?”

 

“You mean for next time?”

 

“Is that you agreeing to a second date?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“In that case, here’s my proposal. I’ll pay for movie tickets for next Saturday afternoon, and you buy popcorn and soda.”

 

“What movie are we seeing?”

 

"Whatever you want.”

 

“Mr. Durin, you have yourself a deal.”

 

“Excellent. Let’s eat, Ms. Mason,” Fili and Cassie smiled at each other as Fili took the plates from the counter. Cassie followed with their coffees to one of the tall outdoor tables on the street-side patio. He grinned at her, setting down their plates before he pulled out her chair for her. Once she’d taken the seat, he leaned over the back and murmured in her ear, “You look beautiful, by the way.”

 

The dark blush made him grin and this close to her already, he couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to her cheek. She laughed, swatting at him as he went to sit opposite her. “Thank you. You look very nice in blue. Why don’t you wear it more often? I’ve noticed that Kili wears blue and green and gray all the time, and blue adds to that golden boy thing you’ve got going.”

 

“I like red and brown better. You’re the only one that calls me that, golden boy.”

 

“Am I? Odd. It seemed perfectly logical when I saw you the first time. I bet black makes you look older.”

 

“Well I like it from you. We’re the fair lamb and the golden lion. Black does the same to you, doesn’t it? You have the same color hair as me.”

 

“True, but I don’t have any red, orange, or yellow in my wardrobe. I’m a cool color palette.”

 

“That might be the only art jargon I understand, so you know.”

 

Cassie laughed, waiting to swallow the first bite of her crepe before she answered. Fili grinned at the blissful look on her face, making a mental note that she liked apple cinnamon crepes and caramel everything. When she could speak again, she reminded him, “I don’t speak sports, but here we are.” They smiled at each other, falling silent to enjoy their breakfasts. When she finished with a regretful sigh, Fili shook his head, smirking as she scooped up the whipped cream and caramel on the side of her plate. “Okay, so what’s the story behind the tattoo? You can’t be the kind of guy who got a tattoo just because it looked cool.”

 

Now it was his turn to laugh as he shook his head. Extending his left arm across the table, he invited, “Go ahead.” He’d watched her fingers trace the design on the perimeter of the table as she used her other hand to eat and could then see the curiosity in her gaze. Against tanned skin that always gave off warmth, her pale touch was cold as she followed the dark lines of ink on his bicep.

 

“This is Norse, isn’t it?” she murmured, hazel gold eyes flicking up to meet his.

 

“It is. Most people think it’s Celtic. See the runes? They spell out family.”

 

“It’s on your left arm because Kili always stands on your left, so Kili either had this same tattoo, or he’s getting it soon.”

 

“You noticed that?”

 

“Once I realized you’re ambidextrous, it made sense. You’re right eye dominant, which explains why you throw the football with your right arm. Kili stands on your left because it’s your weaker side. I’m guessing the weapons training has something to do with why you’re ambidextrous, and you protect Kili first, so he guards your back.” As she spoke, Cassie sat back, taking her hand with her.

 

Fili caught it, twining their fingers together before he remarked, “Is this why you’re so quiet, to be observant and have no one suspect you? You have no problem talking to me.”

 

“I can talk to you because I’m comfortable with you and I trust you. I wasn’t always quiet. Things changed because my father wasn’t supposed to deploy to Afghanistan. We were going to be in Germany long enough for me to finish out secondary school. High school, I mean. But someone was killed in action, and he was the only qualified replacement who get there in time. So off he went, and I came here to live with his parents. It hasn’t all been as pleasant as meeting you.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“No, that’s okay. I’ve dealt with it and it wasn’t too serious. But thank you for offering.”

 

“Anytime you need someone to listen, I’m here. Or anytime you need to attempt to teach art to someone.”

 

“You make a better art subject than an art student.” Cassie blushed again as she gave away her surprise. Drawing the envelope from her bag, she handed it over, gesturing for him to open it and look. “I took those Friday.”

 

Of fifteen pictures, five were of the pep rally. The first featured both Durin brothers, arms over each other’s shoulders, Fili with microphone in hand. In the next they were surrounded by the varsity football team. Then Fili was standing at the back of the senior side of class against class tug of war, Legolas and the twins in front of him. Kili, Bain, and Tauriel were among the ten juniors against the ten seniors in the next picture. Last was Fili grinning at the camera, blue eyes fixed on the girl behind it as he stood against faceless navy blue and gold. “I didn’t think you saw me,” he laughed, looking up to see her swipe some of the whipped cream of her Frappuccino. Grinning at her, he went back to the pictures. Two were before the game, on the sidelines. In one, Fili and Kili sat on the bench, heads bent close together while in the second they leaned on the fence, speaking to a tall, broad shouldered man with stripes of silver in his short black hair. “That’s Thorin, by the way.”

 

“Oh, I was hoping it wasn’t. He’s so intimidating,” she admitted.

 

“You don’t have to meet him now.” The next picture was Fili in the middle of the field for the coin toss with the other team’s captain. After that were three shots of both boys in the huddle or with their coach on the sidelines. Then Cassie had moved down to AMNY’s end-zone and captured the moment Fili released the game-winning pass and behind that came Kili’s sprint for the touchdown. Lastly, the two boys stood together, Fili’s hand on Kili’s helmet as he drew his brother’s forehead down to his own. “My mother’s never been able to get a picture of this. How’d you manage?”

 

Cassie shrugged, thinking how she could possibly explain that to him. “I played with my settings and have an eye for timing. At least, according to my teacher in Germany I do.”

 

“Well this one’s my favorite,” he informed her, sliding the pictures back into the envelope.

 

“Mine too. I love the way you’re smiling at each other.”

 

“Do you mind if I borrow these to make a copy for my mother?”

 

“Those are for you. I have them on my computer so I can email you another for your mom.”

 

“Can I see your phone?” She handed it over, unlocked, and got it back with his home number, address, and email added to his contact.

 

“Thank you, for all of this. This is really nice, Fili.”

 

“I’m glad, considering how much I agree with you. When was the last time you had food like that?”

 

“Dad made crepes for breakfast the day he shipped out, so two months ago. He raised me on army health standards and I don’t really know how to break that habit.”

 

“Well I certainly don’t want to ruin something that has clearly been wonderful for you.”

 

“My god, would you stop that?” she muttered, pressing cool fingers to burning cheeks.

 

Fili laughed and drew her hand back into his. “I’m not going to stop complimenting you, Cass.”

 

“I’m going to spend the rest of my senior year pink thanks to you,” she teased, trailing one fingertip over his knuckles. Glad that she’d been the one to initiate the contact this time, he smiled at her and drew her attention back to his tattoo.

 

“Does Kili have the same tattoo?”

 

“I waited until his sixteenth birthday so we could get them together. Thorin, Mom, Frerin, and Dad all had the same one.”

 

“Frerin?”

 

“Thorin’s younger brother. He was my father’s best friend and his partner when they became cops.”

 

“That’s how your mother met him?”

 

Fili nodded, losing himself in memories for a minute before Cassie laced her fingers through his. “I was worried it would bother you, the tattoo.”

 

This got an affectionate smile and a soft laugh. “How could it? It suits you and I’m an art student. I’m almost guaranteed a tattoo of my own, not to mention my army father.”

 

“That’s what Kili said while I was debating covering it with a shirt or not. What do you want as a tattoo?”

 

“A rose with the Army motto ‘This we’ll defend,’ probably on the inside of my left wrist.”

 

“Why a rose?”

 

“My dad calls me his little flower, and roses are my favorite.”

 

“You would pick the beautiful one with thorns.”

 

“I could pick a tropical flower with thorns and beauty.”

 

“True, but I doubt any of them are quite as delicate in appearance as you.”

 

“Delicate?”

 

“You are the color of porcelain.”

 

“Appearances are deceiving.”

 

“Oh don’t I know. Who knew the silent new girl in government would be as cheerful as my brother?”

 

“That’s all your doing, golden boy.”

 

“Good. Nobody else gets to make you blush the way I do.”

“Well, you have already claimed me to the entire school.”

 

“Are you okay with that? I didn’t really give you much choice.”

 

“I knew what you were doing, Fili. If I’d wanted to say no, I would have.”

 

“So you’re willing to give this a shot?”

 

“Do you want to?”

 

“More than ever.”

 

“Me too.” Once again, she blushed, and they laughed as they cleaned off their table. Coffees in hand, Fili laced their hands together to walk her to work. When she stopped outside a very familiar restaurant, he laughed, much to her confusion.

 

“What’s so funny about my job?” she asked, her smile faltering.

 

“Oi, lass, ye comin’ or what?” the Irish brogue from the front door made her turn, and then, “Fili, lad!”

 

“You know my boss?” Cassie gasped as Bofur came down the stairs of the waterfront Lonely Mountain. She watched, stunned, as the two embraced, Bofur pulling away to ruffle the blonde’s hair.

 

“How’d ye get caught up with this rascal?” Bofur asked her, his ever present grin impossibly wider.

 

“We, uh-we just went on a date,” she murmured, unable to meet her manager’s eyes.

 

“Aye, well in that case, you’ve got five minutes to say good-bye lovebirds,” Bofur chuckled, and just like that he was gone again.

 

“Again, you know my boss?” Cassie turned to Fili, full frown in place.

 

“He’s family. The Lonely Mountain was built with the reward my uncle gave Bofur, his brother, and their cousin for helping with the Smaug trial.”

 

“Well, this just got awkward. Uh-I should go. The lunch rush will start any minute. Um-yeah. Bye, Fili,” Cassie was reverting back to the quiet tone and hesitant words, stepping back to create space between them. She went to move up the stairs, only to find that Fili was fast.

 

His hand caught hers and turned her around, pulling her in for a kiss that tasted of coffee and caramel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you all think of Casli's first kiss? Also, feminism won't really be mentioned after that, but I wanted Cassie to have something she feels passionate about that she's able to connect with Dis. Dis is a very independent woman so I thought gender equality was the perfect thing.


	7. Jitterbug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fili and Cassie wonder if it'll take their whole lives to stop being surprised.

_When Cassie slipped into the Lonely Mountain, she found not only Bofur but his brother too. She could have handled her boss’s teasing, but the owner too? Not so much, even if the brothers were some of the happiest people she knew._

_“Alright, lassie, spill,” Bofur ordered, steering her into a booth near the kitchen. The blue leather was impossibly soft and plush, the freshly buffed table under his elbows gleaming under the low lights. On the first floor of the three story restaurant, the theme held true to stone and darker colors like blue and green. Upstairs, in the bar and lounge, color and gemstones pervaded the interior design, though now that she’d seen Fili’s tattoo, she understood the Norse and Celtic designs. The top floor was private function rooms, varying in color scheme and each named for a precious metal. Bombur, for his impressive girth, pulled up a chair at the end of the table. “How do you know our Fili?”_

_“I share five AP classes and my lunch with him. He’s helped me become friends with the Greenwood siblings and the Finwe twins.”_

_“Then he asked ye out?” Bofur was smiling, encouraging her to tell him, and she found she liked her boss even more for it._

_“We’ve been friends for about two weeks now. He’s been nothing but kind and honorable,” she assured him, taking a peppermint Bombur offered from his pocket. The master chef always had some sort of snack or treat on him, and he rewarded his hard working staff well with food in the break room._

_“Fili’s a good lad, but ye let me know if he pushes too fast. Yer a good lass, but there’s things ye just can’t understand about the Durins,” her boss replied, tossing his own peppermint into the air to catch it in his mouth. “There’s been sufferin’ and loss in that family, my lass, and those four hold tight to each other nowadays. Fili will be smiling, but he won’t tell ye everything.”_

_“Things like Frerin and his father?” she asked quietly. “He told me Frerin was Thorin’s little brother when he was telling me about his tattoo.”_

_“Aye. Frerin was Kili to Thorin’s Fili. Fili will tell ye more when he’s good and ready, but I’ll tell ye this, lass. Thorin will be cold and distant until he feels he can trust ye. That man’s lost his grandparents, both parents, little brother, and his brother in law. He’ll not take kindly to anyone trying to use his heir.”_

_“Someone has before, then, tried to use Fili?” she asked, unhurt by the idea that she’d use Fili. Surrounded by the vultures at school every day, she understood. Money was a powerful motivator._

_“Aye, but that’s not our story to tell,” Bombur reminded her in his gentle way._

_“No, of course not. I don’t think you have to worry about Fili, though. Kili will drive me away the instant he thinks I’m anything less than deserving of his big brother,” she laughed softly, and Bombur patted her hand._

_“Aye, and ye want out, ye holler. Ye were ours first, lass,” Bofur teased, but she heard the seriousness in his voice._

_“I hope your daughters know how lucky they are to have such a wonderful uncle, Bombur,” she met their eyes as she spoke, and Bofur reached across the table to tug one of her curls._

_“Away with ye,” he ordered, but his grin was infectious. “Don’t forget yer braid!” he called as she slipped out of the booth. She nodded, ducking into the employee room beside the kitchen to grab her apron from her locker. Then she used the mirror on the wall to stick a headband braid into her curls to keep them out of her face. Bofur had few requirements of his staff, and one was a braid in the hair of the girls. It went with the theme of the restaurant, and it was fun, so no one complained. Cassie actually enjoyed being a hostess. For some reason, she loved planning and organizing, so helping people make reservations and keeping seating straight were highlights of the job. Telling people how long the wait time had reached was not, considering it was a five star restaurant and Bombur was a famous chef in the city._

 

That had been almost two weeks ago. Cassie had worked Sunday through Wednesday with Thursday spent at the Boys and Girls Club as a volunteer like she had since she’d moved here. Friday she’d stayed at school for the home soccer opener while the football team played their first away game. Legolas and the twins had appreciated her pictures the next Monday, and the school paper had approached her about using some of the pictures to cover each game. She’d been delighted, adding editing to her afterschool timeslot on Tuesdays before work. Saturday Fili had been waiting in the restaurant lobby, chatting with Bofur at the end of her shift to take her to the movies.

 

She’d repeated the same thing this week, with two distinct differences. SAT’s were Saturday, so she’d swapped out her morning shift for the evening one and she wasn’t going back to the house tonight after the football game. Instead, with Sigrid keeping her company, she watched the game through her camera, spotting Thorin once again.

 

Fili’s uncle was very intimidating. He stood over six feet, and she hoped the suit jacket hugging broad, powerful shoulders was because he’d just come from work. She could see a short, black beard covering his jawline but never got close enough to see the color of his eyes. That didn’t stop him from watching her shift around the field to get the best pictures and Sigrid finally noticed her unease. “What’s wrong? You’re acting skittish.

 

“Fili’s uncle is here. He’s intimidating from the other side of the field, what’s he going to be like in person? My god he’s at least a foot taller than me.”

 

“How tall are you?”

 

“Five two.”

 

“Yeah, he’s a foot taller than you,” Sigrid offered a sympathetic smile and Cassie envied her height.

 

“Wonderful,” she sighed, raising her camera to snap a picture. More and more students were arriving, packing already full stands, and Cassie slipped away towards the end-zone for some space.

 

After AMNY’s victory, parents and fans dispersed, but students poured onto the field. Music came on from the announcer’s box and some people gave a half-hearted attempt at dancing. The rest stood talking on the turf.

 

It took a little while, but eventually the football team emerged from the locker room, showered and out of their uniforms. They gathered behind Fili and Kili at the edge of the field, where the clapping crowd quieted. “Happy Homecoming!” Fili boomed, a grin carving its way across his face. The student body erupted into cheering, and then they were all dancing. The music grew louder, and Cassie winced from her lone spot on the bleachers with her camera.

 

She snapped a few pictures, but her heart wasn’t in it. This wasn’t her scene anymore. Maybe when she’d lived in Germany, she’d been one of those girls out there dancing, but this was odd. No one was actually dancing. It was grinding, and it made her uncomfortable enough to stay while Sigrid disappeared to find Tauriel and Arwen.

 

Strong hands came down on her shoulders, warmth sinking through her navy long sleeve AMNY football shirt. Craning her head backwards, she found Fili grinning down at her. “Hey,” he greeted, grazing his lips across hers in a quick kiss.

 

“Hi. Nice game,” she had to speak louder to be heard over the music that was already hurting her head.

 

“Thanks. Do you want to lock that in my car?”

 

“Yes please.” He drew her to her feet, twining their hands together as he picked up her camera bag. She took it back when she saw that he had his football bag on his shoulder. The silver Ford Shelby GT 500 was easy enough to find in the small student lot, and they locked the bags in the trunk with no trouble. Then Cassie used their still joined hands to pull Fili in for a kiss. She felt his other hand settle on her hair and grinned into the kiss when he freed her ponytail. There was something about her hair that he loved, and unless it was braided, he took it down at first opportunity.

 

A light flashed beside them and they broke apart to see Kili and Bain. Kili lowered his phone, revealing a playful grin, and Cassie blushed. “That better be a good picture,” she grumbled. Fili’s head fell back as his laugh echoed across the parking lot.

 

“What’s so funny?” Kili teased, pressing send on the picture message.

 

“The photographer finally got photographed,” Fili explained, digging out his phone as it went off. Opening the message, he grinned at his little brother, then showed his phone to Cassie. Kili had managed a good picture for using a phone. He caught the moment her hair settled over her shoulders, her hair tie in Fili’s fingers.

 

“Can we eat now?” Bain asked, though he too grinned at them. Kili tossed his gear into the trunk, slamming it closed with one hand as he slung his other arm over Fili’s shoulders. The other arm ended up drawing Bain into the fold as they walked back to the field. Fili, Legolas and the twins, being the senior class officers, had set up tables before the game, and now they were covered by pizza, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, and finger sandwiches Fili had commissioned from Bombur.

 

The boys, having not eaten since before the game, fell on the food. Their teammates joined soon after and Cassie grabbed a sandwich and soda before she moved away to give them room.

 

Tauriel, Sigrid, and the twins’ younger sister Arwen converged on her not a moment too soon. Sydney and her clique surrounded the four, driving them away from the tables and their brothers. “Break up with him,” Sydney ordered, crowding into Cassie’s face.

 

“Leave her alone,” Tauriel snapped, stepping forward. Of the four, the red-head was the most dangerous, but Sydney appeared not to care.

 

“Tauriel,” Cassie’s voice was firm as it rang over the music. The junior backed down, falling in at Cassie’s left shoulder, silent and seething.

 

“What are you going to do, new girl?” Sydney sneered, raising her hand again. “Durin is mine.”

 

This time Cassie caught her wrist. Yanking the bottle blonde down to eye level, she snarled, “I’m going to say this once, you greedy bitch. Fili is not a prize for you to win. He’s a human being capable of making his own decisions. He chose me.” Sydney paled, falling back as Cassie released her. “Now get the hell away from us.” She went, fleeing on wobbling heels across the pavement.

 

Cassie laughed as Tauriel, Sigrid, and Arwen squeezed her in a group hug. “That was amazing, Cassie.”

 

“Yes, it was, and I’m wondering where that was the first time.” Fili’s voice cut through their laughter, and the three younger girls drew back. The blonde moved through the navy sea that was his team to stand before Cassie, looking down into her glittering eyes.

 

She shrugged, giving him a shy smile. “I promised,” was her only explanation. He grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, turning to face their friends around them. Except for the face that not one of them was looking their way. They were all far too busy juggling food as they climbed the bleachers to sit. Fili and Cassie followed, falling into easy conversations as they claimed seats. Elladan and Elrohir were the first to leave when they were all through their food, disappearing into the crowd. Eventually their numbers dwindled until it was only Fili and Cassie on the bleachers.

 

“Do you want to dance?” Fili asked gently, watching her gaze over the student body.

 

“Not like that, no,” she sighed, flashing him an apologetic glance.

 

“That’s not dancing,” he told her, rising. He offered his hand and smiled, “May I have a dance, Ms. Mason?”

 

Another blush warmed her cheeks as she took his hand. “You may, Mr. Durin.”

 

The music changed when they reached the field. Gone was the pounding, bass filled hip hop dance remixes. Instead, bouncing jazz filled the air, and a circle formed on what was being used as a dance floor. Fili moved through the crowd until they stood at the edge of the circle and Cassie gasped in delight. Kili, Legolas and Bain were whirling Tauriel, Sigrid, and Arwen around in a dance she recognized with a great deal of shock. “You guys know the jitterbug?” she turned to Fili with an amazed smile.

 

“Ered Luin teaches more than just weapons, thanks to my mother,” he shrugged, and Cassie laughed.

 

“Can we?” she asked, and Fili blinked.

 

“How do you know the jitterbug?” he realized, a matching grin spreading across his face.

 

“You’d be amazed what bored soldiers will think of to teach you,” she laughed.

 

“Well alright then,” he decided, and with that, he spun her out into the circle. Cassie had never had as much fun dancing with her father’s soldiers as she was having now. Fili was strong, lifting her with ease and she found it was easy to trust his broad shoulders and thick arms. He was also faster than any of her previous partners except maybe her father when he’d had enough practice.

 

When the jazz ended, people broke off clapping the beat to cheer for them. Sigrid stole Cassie away from Fili with a squeal, and the three girls plied her for details on how she’d learned to dance.

 

In the two hours they were allowed to have the field after the game, Fili managed two slow songs from the DJ. For the second one, he pulled Cassie from where she’d been dancing with her friends as the music changed a few minutes before eleven. She smiled up at him, following as he waltzed her around the field in an easy slow step. People had begun to leave, though a number of couples stayed out on the turf.

 

As the last notes of the song faded, the DJ spoke into the microphone, “Good night everyone and thanks for coming out to homecoming!” Fili drew back, turning over the hand that held hers to press a kiss to her skin. She giggled, sweeping her hair over her shoulder, and his fingers itched to comb through the gold curls.

 

Instead he relinquished her to Sigrid and Arwen as they all set about cleaning. The girls swept through the bleachers, gathering soda cans and paper plates to dump in the trash as the boys put away the tables. “I can’t believe how much food is left,” Cassie exclaimed when she saw the four boxes that were left.

 

“Bombur gave us more than we ordered,” Legolas shrugged as he divided the pizza between the four boxes. Bain followed with chicken wings, and Kili held what was left of the mozzarella sticks. Fili had already divided up the rest of the sandwiches by the time the twins got back from putting away the last table.

 

“That everything?” the blonde asked, looking around the field as the lights went off.

 

“DJ is already packed up and gone,” Tauriel nodded.

 

“We got all the trash,” Sigrid added.

 

“Alright, let’s go home,” Kili finished, taking one of the boxes. Legolas, Bain, and Elrohir each took one of the other three. The group trooped out to their row of four cars, and Cassie was not surprised when Legolas slid into the driver’s seat of the flashy Porsche Cayman.

 

“Uh, Fili? Can I get my camera bag?” she asked when he made to get in the Shelby. “I’d like to download my pictures this weekend.”

 

“Can’t you do that when you get home?” Kili asked, standing at the passenger side.

 

“Not if my camera is in your car all weekend.”

 

Fili cut off his brother’s next question with a raised hand. “Cassie, get in. I’m driving you home.”

 

“But that’s not even in your direction!” she exclaimed. If they did that they had to come all the way back this way.

 

“Where do you live, Cassie?” Kili asked.

 

“Brooklyn Heights.”

 

“We live on Cobble Hill. You could come with us,” Arwen offered.

 

“Can’t I just walk to the subway?” Cassie groaned.

 

“No. Please just get in the car, Cassie,” Fili replied. With a sigh, she climbed behind his driver’s seat into the door-less backseat. She wasn’t sure what the big deal was about taking the subway. It was safer than walking, then she remembered, _“Can’t you just let me be protective?”_ It didn’t take long for her to shake her head with a fond smile and lean forward to talk to Kili. Fili only needed the number and street, and then they were parked outside the brownstone.

 

She took her camera bag from Fili at the door. He leaned down, bringing their foreheads together and finally gave into the urge to run his hand through her hair. “Thank you for driving me,” she murmured, resting her hand on his chest in the small light of the stoop.

 

“Thank you for dancing with me.”

 

“I’ll see you Monday.”

 

“Good luck with the SAT’s tomorrow.” He closed the fractional distance between them with a gentle kiss, using his hand in her hair to pull her towards him. When they pulled apart, Cassie fished her keys out of her bag, and Fili stepped back. “Good night, Cassie.”

 

“Good night, Fili,” she replied, then slipped into the pitch black townhouse to watch the boys drive away from the window.


	8. Media Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameras are everywhere, and the Prince has a princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this incredibly late chapter guys!

“What are you working on?” Cassie looked up from her computer as Legolas dropped into the seat opposite her. Wednesdays and Thursdays were a blessing in disguise in her schedule, something she hadn’t learned until after the first week. On those two days, instead of the usual eight 45 minute periods of the other days of the week, classes were split into four ninety minute blocks. On Wednesday, fifth block was two hours long, allowing one of four half hour lunch periods and ninety minute studies for everyone. Thursday, it was sixth period, but since she had a class assigned to that period, study was only on Wednesday. Cassie had learned quickly to retreat to the mezzanine study lounge on the second floor of the library building instead of remaining on the first floor with everyone else.

“My Common Application,” she smiled up at the tall blonde, taking a strawberry from the proffered cup.

“Oh? Where does Miss Cassie want to go to college?” the heir of Greenwood Fashion inquired, reclining in a position Cassie was sure he’d learned from his supermodel father.

“My first choice is here, NYU, but if I don’t get in there I’d like to go to the Rhode Island School of Design,” she replied, raising her eyebrows at him.

He smirked, popped a strawberry in his mouth, and regarded her. “Majoring in photography, of course,” he surmised.

Cassie blushed but nodded, closing her laptop when she finished the next section of the application. “And you’re looking to go to the Fashion Institute of Technology,” she replied, remembering a conversation she’d had with Tauriel. Legolas dipped his sleek head, then turned frozen glass eyes to the stairs. Cassie smiled as Fili appeared, but hurriedly put away her laptop. The blonde was snarling with a fury that had even Legolas’s eyes widening. Everyone around him backed away, but Cassie scrambled out of her chair to place herself in front of Fili. “What happened, lion?”

“Get your bag, please. We need to talk,” he requested, and she saw the effort it took to unclench his fist before he touched her cheek. Now worried, Cassie took her offered bag from Legolas as he leveled Fili with a questioning gaze. “Kili will explain. He and Tauriel are waiting for you at the fountain.” The silver head was quick to bob an agreement and then Fili was towing Cassie away to the privacy of a study room along the wall.. “I’m not mad at you,” he assured her as he opened the door for her.

“Then tell me who you’re furious with,” she prompted, sitting on the edge of the table. Bags discarded in the chairs around them, she watched him pace the confines of the room. “Fili, breathe,” she suggested, reaching out to catch one of his hands. “Tell me what happened.” To her surprise he stopped, bracing his weight against the table on either side of her hips as he leaned his forehead against hers. Her hands came up to his shoulders, fingertips running along clenched muscle and knots.

One of his hands left the table, holding his phone out for her to see the screen. On it was a magazine article, the headline declaring, “Fool Me Once, Philip!” In the picture, Fili was facing the camera in his white home jersey. Before him, back to the camera, stood Cassie. Written across the back of the blue away jersey she wore was, “Durin.” The matching numbers left little to the imagination. “I’m so sorry, Cass. I thought I’d have more time before something like this happened,” Fili sighed, setting his phone on the table beside her thigh.

“Why are you sorry?” she asked, carding a hand through his growing hair. “You didn’t do this. Tauriel and I have been talking about this kind of paparazzi incident happening. I see the cameras and security around school; it’s not like I haven’t realized this school is full of the rich and famous.” Polar ice scented breath whooshed across her face as Fili exhaled. Tilting her head, she pressed a kiss to his frown. When she drew back, the frown had faded, but anger still rolled in his eyes. “Why does this make you so angry?”

“The headline, ‘Fool Me Once,’ it’s referring to the last time I had a girlfriend,” he admitted, nudging her wrist with his nose. A blush rose up her neck, but Fili’s next words drowned the fire. “I let her in, Cass, and she almost destroyed everything Thorin had spent so long rebuilding. She used the media against me.”

“That’s why you wanted to keep me away from the public eye,” she realized, but she couldn’t even muster any form of anger or indignation at the idea that he was protecting his family from a past mistake. “Fili, hey look at me,” she coaxed, sliding her hand from his neck to his cheek. “You don’t have to let me in. I won’t ever ask that of you. Protecting your family, lion, I understand that.”

“I want to let you in, though. I want my mother to nag us both about college applications and Kili to tease us in front of reporters and Thorin to look at us with the same pride he looked at my parents. But I wanted to do this on our terms, not because someone else forced us. I wanted you to be prepared and comfortable with this idea before it happened,” he told her. One of his hands had, as always, found its way into her hair. The other traced what was probably a Norse rune on her hip, and Cassie felt a blush rising again. Fili was gentle, far gentler than his broad shoulders and wide hands would suggest. “Thorin’s going to want to do something about this. Dori will probably advise some kind of public appearance together. We can keep in low-key until you’re comfortable, but it might not be avoidable.”

“Whatever needs to be done, golden boy, just tell me. I’m not going to make you handle this alone. I’m in that picture too,” she promised, meeting his eyes. The same resolve she’d had in her eyes when facing down Sydney was presented to him now, and he smiled before he kissed her. A low hum was startled out of Fili when she slid back on the table, allowing him to stand between her knees. Since homecoming three weeks earlier, Cassie had become more confident in any kind of affection, though only in private. She’d yet to lose her blush, but Fili wasn’t inclined to ever make that go away.

The phone ringing jolted them apart. Fili groaned and Cassie laughed, inevitably coaxing a deep chuckle from her boyfriend. They turned to look down at the sleek Samsung sitting on the table. “He’s seen it,” Fili realized as they stared at Thorin’s picture. She gestured for him to answer it, and he swiped the screen like the phone might explode in his hands. “Uncle?”

“Is she with you?” Thorin asked.

“Yes.”

“Put the phone on speaker.”

Fili looked up at Cassie, startled, but did as he was ordered. “You’re on speaker.”

“Ms. Mason?”

“Sir?” Cassie replied, wide eyes staring at the phone.

“Both of you listen to me. The blame for this lies with neither of you. Philip, do not lose your temper. Ms. Mason, do not hide. I need the two of you to present a strong image to your schoolmates. You should also expect a heavy number of media outside the school today. Do not avoid them. There is nothing for either of you to be ashamed of. Do you understand, Ms. Mason?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Dori has reminded me that the Halloween Masquerade Ball is next weekend. He recommends a public appearance there, together. Unlike a charity dinner or something of that ilk, it will be less questionable for Ms. Mason to be present.”

“Sir, does Fili have to wear a suit?” Cassie asked, a mischievous gleam entering her eyes.

“He does.”

"Sounds fun.” She grinned over the phone at the blonde boy and he laughed.

“We’ll go, Uncle.”

“Very well. I’ll leave you and your mother to sort the details of Ms. Mason’s attire.”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“You can call me Cassie.”

The two blondes were surprised to hear a rumble through the phone. “Uncle, did you just chuckle?”

“I did, indeed. In that case, Ms. Cassie, you may call me Thorin.”

“Deal.”

 

Three days later Cassie stared at Fili, open mouthed. “Cass?”

“You want me to do what?”

“My mother wants to take you to the salon. She insists that you let her treat you to getting your hair, makeup, and nails done for the ball.”

“I’ve never even met your mother, Fili.”

“Isn’t this the best possible way?”

“What if she has them do some horrible hairstyle or something?"

“Lamb, think about this for a minute. It’s my mother. Why would she do that?”

“Because she doesn’t approve and wants to ruin my first public appearance with you?”

“She wouldn’t do that even if she didn’t approve.”

“Kili!”

“Yes, Cassie?” The brunette straightened in his seat across the lunch table, breaking his conversation with Tauriel.

“Does your mother like me?”

“Has she told you she doesn’t?”

“No?”

“There you go. If she didn’t like you, she’d have marched right up to you and said so. My mother is very blunt.”

“So she hasn’t approached me at all because?”

“She respects that you weren’t ready.” Kili shrugged and turned back to the red-head, leaving Cassie to face his grinning brother.

Fili sent his mother back a message, “She’ll go. Just don’t throw everything in her face.”

“I’m so screwed,” Cassie muttered, dropping her head onto her arms atop the table.

 

The day of the party she just couldn’t believe the girl in the full length mirror was her. Her blonde hair had been braided and curled into what the hair stylist had called a Romantic Greek Goddess. She had a French manicure and pedicure for the first time in her life. Then another stylist had done something with silver and gray eyeshadow and black liquid eyeliner that Cassie could never hope to replicate even when she did her best smoky eye. Plus, her lipstick never looked this smooth, or made her lips this full. Gold peep toe pumps made her tan calves look amazing, and she was even gladder that she’d picked out a high-low dress. Of course, her original intent had been less of a skirt to avoid tripping over, but the view of her legs was an added bonus.

“Cassie, sweetie, you okay?” Dis called through the door of her bedroom.

“Yeah,” the girl replied. She’d tried to speak around the lump in her throat, but her voice came out strangled.

Dis immediately bustled into the room, frowning. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” Fili’s mother ordered, and Cassie blinked back tears.

“I can’t believe that’s me,” she gestured to the mirror as the older woman zipped up the sheer lace back of the purple dress.

The satin skirt rustled as Dis smoothed it. “Breathe, sweetie,” she coaxed, and Cassie laughed.

“This is surreal. I just can’t believe that’s actually me. I'm so nervous, too. I have to get this all right so the media leaves Fili alone, but I don't know if I can, but I have to try for Fili's sake. Thank you for all of this.” She smiled at the older woman in the mirror and was surprised to see tears in the fierce blue eyes. Startled, Cassie pivoted and took Dis’s hands. “Why are you crying?”

“You’re something special Cassandra Mason. I can only hope my son knows it,” the Durin matriarch replied. Cassie blushed, and Dis laughed. “There’s that blush he talks about. It certainly is adorable.” She grinned as the blonde ducked her head, then squeezed her hands. “Now let’s get you down to my son before he comes up here looking for you.”

Dis went down the stairs first so she could have the camera ready. Fili got to his feet from where he and Kili were seated at the counter, smoothing his black tuxedo. “Is she ready?” he asked, and Dis was amused to see that her eldest was nervous.

“Cassie, sweetie, come on down,” Dis called back up the stairs. Only Kili saw Thorin appear in the doorway to watch.

Fili waited at the bottom of the stairs, his mouth dropping open when he saw his girlfriend. “Wow Cassie,” he breathed, reaching out for her hand. “Mom, take a picture of just Cass so we can send it to her dad.” Before the Durin heir could step away, Cassie surged forward, bracing one hand on his chest to kiss him. When she pulled away, Fili was grinning down at her. She didn’t have to explain for him to know it was her thank you for remembering her father’s absence.

Dis managed to get several rounds of pictures of Cassie and Fili, sometimes adding in Kili. At Cassie’s insistence, she handed over the camera to pose with her sons, and then Cassie spotted Thorin in the doorway. Her heels clicked against the hardwood floor as she approached him, biting her painted lip. Then she stuck out her hand and met commanding blue eyes. “You’re far less intimidating when you’re hiding in the doorway,” she told him.

He took her hand and proved her theory that Fili had learned his mannerisms from his uncle by turning over her palm and kissing her knuckles. “You should never hide this smile, Cassandra, not when it makes my nephew smile brighter than I have seen in years,” he replied, too softly for the rest of his family to hear. “And know that any man, Army officer or not, would be proud to be your father,” he added, watching her black lined eyes fill with gratitude. Fili had told his uncle about her deployed father and the lack of attention from her grandparents that she’d never commented on. Thorin recognized a lonely Army child when he saw one, and knew her drive to make the absent proud.

“Thank you,” she whispered, looking down at the camera in her other hand. Blinking away the tears, she looked up with a smile and decided, “Your turn, Thorin.”

“As you wish, Cassandra.” Outwardly, the man showed no sign of his joy at watching the three teens, but Cassie seemed to sense it all the same. She also understood that Cassandra was as informal he was going to get when addressing her for now. Thorin had seen the pictures Cassie had taken for Dis at various school events, so he held his tongue when she posed them for the best lighting and angles. Behind the camera, the girl had very little trouble giving orders or making requests.

Fili bundled Cassie in a pea coat before they headed out to the limo, and laughed at Cassie’s wide eyed intake of the car. Dwalin, also in a tux, was waiting for them at the hotel entrance. The chief of Erebor Security was at ease as he opened the door for Thorin, backlit by flashing cameras. Thorin offered his hand to his sister, and Cassie took Fili’s hand. “I’m right here, lamb,” Fili assured her as Kili stepped out of the limo. His elder brother followed, then helped Cassie from the car.

The cameras flashed to an erratic tempo as reporters called out to Fili and Cassie. “Just smile,” Fili instructed, leaning over to whisper in her ear. She caught sight of a mischievous smirk out of the corner of her eye before he kissed her cheek. Kili laughed at her as her signature blush stained her cheeks, and Fili led the trio inside to the table to pick up their masks.

Kili took a silver mask and Fili slid a gold one over his eyes. Dis appeared behind Cassie to place the matching gold butterfly wing mask over her hair. The purple jewels in the wing matched Cassie’s dress with a perfection only Dis could have provided, and Cassie was unsurprised to see the same purple trim on Fili’s mask. Fili pulled the coat from Cassie’s shoulders, then took her hand again. “Ready?"

“Not at all,” she replied.

“I’ll be right beside you,” he promised, kissing her once more.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Lili the Dark Moon on Youtube.com for the hairstyle


End file.
